Ramón Del Castillo, PhD
Who is on trial in American society regarding the current Presidential impeachment? A quick glimpse into the deteriorating conditions within the infrastructure in the White House in particular and the United States of America in general may shed some light on this. It appears that the legal system, the United States Constitution, and democracy are on trial—American citizens constitute the jury.
They will judge the outcome of this trial as Americans shape the next political decade. We are at the tipping point of shaping a superficial government encapsulated by shallow values or bringing back to life what America’s forefathers envisioned—a republic that can withstand even the greatest of threats.
In Article 2, Section 4 of the Constitution of the United States of America, it states that “The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” With the presidential elections looming over the social conscience of American society, the White House has embarked upon an impeachment trial against President Donald J. Trump. They are convinced that they have enough goods on the president to convict him of some of the aforementioned high crimes.
When these characteristics are added to his inability to speak truth; he has ostensibly told over 15,00 lies, one can easily surmise that he should be removed from office without a doubt.
More precisely, Donald Trump has been accused of soliciting foreign interference to pursue personal gain as he vies for a second term as president of the United States. Directly connected to the allegations, issues of lying and his deceitful nature toward the American public are byproducts that add fuel to the fire. He has also been accused of withholding 400 million dollars that had been approved by Congress to support the in its duty and obligation to protect the nation.
The President has summoned some of the greatest legal minds to determine if what they allege he has done warrants an abuse of his power; therefore, constitutes a violation of the U. S. Constitution. Many are claiming objectivity as the lenses from which they will determine guilt. Someone must have invented magic dust to make this happen. The reality is that political infiltration from both parties will occur. One question that should be asked is if the decisions that have been made have caused public harm to the woefully innocent; if so, it is a crime.
Alexander Hamilton in the Federalist Papers warned Americans of the nature of man that leans toward being, “ambitious, vindictive, and rapacious.” Trump qualifies for all three. He has been unable to balance his corrupt nature, exhibiting undue ambition to remain president for life. He actually believes that he is above the law. He has challenged his foes with an attitude that resembles, “an eye for an eye,” and his greed is beyond human comprehension. When these characteristics are added to his inability to speak truth; he has ostensibly told over 15,00 lies, one can easily surmise that he should be removed from office without a doubt. Hamilton further argued in the Federalist papers that, “momentary passions and immediate interests, have a more active and imperious control over human conduct than general or remote considerations of policy, utility and justice?” When self-interest overrides the welfare of the Greater Good, self-indulgence needs to come to a halt. Who are the guardians of the gates of injustice, especially as a president abuses his power? How should one’s passions be controlled and who has lost sight of his conscience? The Constitution argues it is through a trial.
Democrats have vowed to find out the truth, something that has become nebulous since the Trump Administration. The President’s finagling of public relations, relying on the creation of alternative scenarios about anything that implicates accusations of the president’s wrongdoing, has become the norm. Trump has already made a mockery of the two party system, transforming it into a tyranny and self-serving mechanism for his own gluttony. We should not count on truth as a resolution. Truth has nothing to do with the impeachment trail; pardon the pun but politics will trump anything that gets in the way of the president’s exoneration. He believes that his ace in the hole is a self-pardon so that he doesn’t become a jail mate of the many other crooks that have already been convicted of crimes against democracy. His hired guns are professors of law whose students are the prosecutors for this fiasco.
In his condescending demeanor Trump has abandoned any sense of fairness and does so without concern for the public welfare. What is left is the theatre of the Absurd, with the Congress in the limelight, whose power is also being questioned by Trump’s cavalier attitude and insistence that he is above the law, using Amendment II, twisting it to his convenience. In search of a Greater Good is always challenging. One has to forsake his or her self-interest in the process. The most efficient means to enact an impeachment is through a fair trial; one with principles of justice and integrity. However, the President has issued gag orders preventing anyone from testifying, especially those that he perceives may betray him.
He is not seeking fairness during this trial, he is testing how far his abuse of power will take him. Who is on trial? The soul of America and all that it purportedly stands for.
Dr. Ramón Del Castillo is an Independent Journalist. © 1-20-2020 Ramón Del Castillo.
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